An Iznik pottery border tile with blue ground, Turkey, circa 1540-45

Ex-Private collection, U.K., acquired in the 1980s.

This is a rare and relatively early form of Iznik tile. The formality of the stencilled lotus and floral motifs is juxtaposed with the more playful saz leaves and prunus sprays. The palette follows that which came into favour in the 1520s when turquoise was introduced to the original Iznik palette of cobalt blue and white. 

The saz leaf is a motif thought to be developed from drawings of the 1520s by the noted court artist Sahkulu. The prunus sprays begins to appear with frequency a little later. A number of dishes, thought to date to around 1535-45, are decorated in what has been termed 'the potters' style' many of which employ floral designs reserved on a cobalt blue ground (N. Atasoy and J. Raby, Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, 1987, pp.114-5, nos.158-160 and 164). A number of tiles, usually hexagonal, are thought to date from 15404-5 (ibid. pp.134-5, nos.225, 228 and 231). The group uses both the stencilled lotus and floral motifs and, at times, the saz leaf and prunus. They also commonly use a border of repeated floral motifs reserved on a turquoise ground. On the basis of this, and the development of decorative motifs in Iznik outlined above, it seems most likely that our tile is a close contemporary to these hexagonal examples. 

For a similar tile, see H. Bilgi, Iznik: Ömer Koç Collection, Istanbul, 2015, pp.164-5, no.46.